Tuning In: NESN's Jamie Erdahl has been a quick learner

NESN's Jamie Erdahl always seems to be at ease in front of the camera.

So what's her secret?

It's something that NBC Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya told her when Erdhal was 16 years old: You've got to be the same person on camera that you are off of it.

"It's exhausting to keep up some facade," Erdahl said. "So I never put too much emphasis on turning the face on when the light goes on. I just try to be very much myself."

Erdahl was a high school intern for the afternoon drive show on KFAN radio in Minneapolis and when she found out that Tafoya was going to be interviewed on the morning show she made sure the two talked.

"I remember I walked to the parking garage with her," Erdahl said. "I was just chatting her ear off."

Erdahl, 25, has come a long ways in the 2½ years since she graduated from American University in December 2011. She replaced Naoko Funayama as the Bruins rinkside reporter last season and since the season ended she has filled in occasionally as the Red Sox field reporter and as a studio anchor.

"It's been a fast ride," Erdahl said, "but I feel as though I've stepped up to all of the occasions with the way I know how to do it, which is a lot of hard work and a lot of preparation."

If Erdahl hadn't done a good job of interviewing a high school basketball player for a cable station in Minnesota, she might not be with NESN today. After the interview, the player's stepfather told Erdahl that he was impressed with her. The stepfather turned out to be Jim Petersen, the television analyst for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he gave her his card and urged her to contact his boss at Fox Sports North, Joseph Marr. After many attempts, Erdahl finally arranged a lunch meeting with Maar and she was hired to be the sideline reporter for FSN's coverage of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and to fill on Twins pregame shows.

Maar joined NESN in the summer of 2012 as executive producer and vice president of programming and production, and he hired Erdahl a few months later. Erdahl's first assignment in November 2012 was covering a Pop Warner championship game at Foley Stadium in Worcester.

Erdahl grew up playing basketball and softball. As a 5-foot-7 point guard for Division 3 St. Olaf College in Minnesota, she led her conference with 5.2 assists a game, but she transferred to American University to pursue broadcasting. At American, she hosted a monthly show about the AU men's basketball team on Comcast Sports Washington.

Erdahl's schedule can get hectic. Last week, she accompanied the Sox to Oakland and Seattle, then arrived in New York at 9 a.m. last Thursday and covered the NBA Draft in Brooklyn that night. Last Friday, she took a train to Philadelphia to cover the NHL Draft that night.

"It was probably the most draining couple of days of my life," she said.

"He took some winning over," Erdahl said. "Anybody would in that role. They were very used to working with Naoko, and she was so good at her job so I think it was going to take some time for all of us to get used to each other."

Erdahl eventually could read Julien's body language and mood to know whether she could crack a joke before they went on camera or remain serious.

Erdahl soaked up everything she could from game announcers Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley starting with NESN's five-stop road trip throughout New England to promote the broadcasts.

"Brick would talk about the power play in the backseat with Jack," Erdahl said, "and I would turn around from the front seat and try to pick up everything he was saying. It really started back then. It was a total learning curve."

Because of the slower pace of baseball, Erdahl has more time to interview fans during Red Sox games than she has during Bruins games.

"There's just not a lot of down time in hockey," she said, "where you feel like you can take your eye away from the action. Things can happen so quickly."

Erdahl's mother Chris is a baseball nut who was in Seattle when the Red Sox visited and plans to watch a game in every major league stadium. For Mother's Day, Erdahl gave her mom tickets to the All-Star Game in Minneapolis on July 15. Her father Jim is more of a basketball fan.

"They definitely put me on sports and just let me go," Erdahl said.

Locals heading to Clubhouse

Shrewsbury youth baseball players are scheduled to be part of the live audience at noon Sunday on Yawkey Way for NESN Clubhouse, a Red Sox pregame show geared toward younger viewers.

Contact Bill Doyle at wdoyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.